Airco DH.2
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| Airco DH.2 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Airco |
| Designed by | Geoffrey de Havilland |
| Primary user | Royal Flying Corps |
The Airco D.H.2 was a single-seat biplane "pusher" aircraft which operated as a fighter during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier D.H.1 two-seater. The D.H.2 was the first effectively armed British single-seat fighter and enabled Royal Flying Corps pilots to counter the Fokker Scourge that had given the Germans the advantage in the air during much of 1915. Until the British developed an interrupter gear to match the German system, pushers such as the D.H.2 and the F.E.2 carried the burden of fighting and escort duties.
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[edit] Development
Early air combats over the Western Front indicated the need for a single seat fighter to combat German fighters (and in particular the Fokker Eindecker. As no reliable Interrupter gear was available to the British, Geoffrey de Havilland designed the DH.2 as a smaller, single seat development of the earlier two seat D.H.1 pusher design. The D.H.2 first flew on June 1 1915 [1].
The D.H.2 was armed with a single Lewis gun which was originally able to be positioned on one of three flexable mountings in the cockpit, with the pilot transferring the gun between mountings in flight at the same time as flying the aircraft. Once pilots learnt that the best method of achieving a kill was to aim the aircraft rather than the gun, the machine gun was fixed in the forward-facing centre mount, although this was initially banned by higher authorities until a clip which fixed the gun in place but could be released if required was approved[2].
The majority of D.H.2s were fitted with the 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine but later models received the 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhône 9J.
A total of 400 D.H.2s were produced by Airco.
[edit] Operational service
The first squadron equipped with the D.H.2, No. 24 Squadron RFC, arrived in France in February 1916[1], the first single seat fighter squadron of the RFC. The D.H.2 ultimately equipping six fighter squadrons. The D.H.2 paid a major role in defeating the threat of the Fokker Eindecker, and was heavily engaged during the Battle of the Somme, 24 Squadron alone engaging in 774 combats and destroying 44 enemy machines[1]. The D.H.2 had sensitive controls and at a time when service training for pilots in the RFC was very poor it terrified some pilots, who nicknamed it the "Spinning Incinerator", but as training improved, it was recognised as very manoeverable and relatively easy to fly.
The arrival at the front of more powerful German tractor biplane fighters such as the Albatros D.I and the Halderstadt, which appeared in September 1916, meant that the D.H.2 was outclassed. It remained in first-line service in France, however, until Nos. 24 and 32 Squadrons RFC completed re-equipment with D.H.5s in June 1917, and a few remained in service in Macedonia until late autumn of that year. By this time the type was totally obsolete as a fighter, although it was used as an advanced trainer well into 1918.
Distinguished pilots of the D.H.2 included Victoria Cross winner Lanoe Hawker (8 victories), who was the first commander of No 24 Squadron and ace Alan Wilkinson (10 victories). The commander of No 32 Squadron Lionel Rees won the Victora Cross flying the D.H.2 for attacking a formation of ten German two seaters on 1 July 1916. German ace and tactician Oswald Boelcke was killed in a collision during a dogfight with 24 Squadron D.H.2s, although it should be noted that the collision was with one of his own wingmen.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (DH.2)
Data from Warplanes of the First World War - Fighters Volume One[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 25 ft 2½ in (7.69 m)
- Wingspan: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
- Height: 9 ft 6½ in (2.91 m)
- Wing area: 249 ft² (23.13 m²)
- Empty weight: 942 lb (428 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 1,441 lb (654 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine, 100 hp (75 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 93 mph (150 km/h) at sea level
- Range: 250 miles (400 km)
- Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,265 m)
- Rate of climb: 545 ft/min (166 m/min)
- Wing loading: 5.79 lb/ft² (28.3 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.069 hp/lb (0.11 kW/kg)
- Endurance 2¾ hours
- Climb to 5000 ft 24 minutes 45 seconds
Armament
1 x .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun using 47-round drum magazines
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Mason, Francis K (1992). The British Figher since 1912. Naval Institite Press. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
- ^ Goulding, James (1986). Interceptor- RAF Single Seat Multi-Gun Fighters. Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 0 7110 1583 X.
- ^ Bruce, J M (1965). Warplanes of the First World War - Fighters Volume One. MacDonald & Co.
[edit] Related content
Related development: Airco DH.1
Comparable aircraft: Vickers FB.5 - RAF FE.2 - Breguet 5
Designation sequence: DH.1 - DH.2 - DH.3 - DH.4 - DH.5
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